The Starling

Robert Buchanan

Patrick Regan
has kindly shared the material
from his Robert Buchanan site with readers of the Victorian Web,
who may wish to consult the original.

I.

The little lame tailor
Sat stitching and snarling —
Who in the world
Was the tailor's darling?
To none of his kind
Was he well-inclined,
But he doted on Jack the starling.

II.

For the bird had a tongue,
And of words good store,
And his cage was hung
Just over the door.
And he saw the people,
And heard the roar, —
Folk coming and going
Evermore, —
And he look'd at the tailor, —
And swore.

III.

From a country lad
The tailor bought him, —
His training was bad,
For tramps had taught him;
On alehouse benches
His cage had been,
While louts and wenches
Made jests obscene, —
But he learn'd, no doubt,
His oaths from fellows
Who travel about
With kettle and bellows,
And three or four,
The roundest by far
That ever he swore,
Were taught by a tar.
And the tailor heard —
'We'll be friends!' said he,
'You're a clever bird,
And our tastes agree —
We both are old,
And esteem life base,
The whole world cold,
Things out of place,
And we're lonely too,
And full of care —
So what can we do
But swear?

IV.

'The devil take you,
How you mutter! —
Yet there's much to make you
Swear and flutter.
You want the fresh air
And the sunlight, lad,
And your prison there
Feels dreary and sad,
And here I frown
In a prison as dreary,
Hating the town,
And feeling weary:
We're too confined, Jack,
And we want to fly,
And you blame mankind, Jack,
And so do I!
And then, again,
By chance as it were,
We learn'd from men
How to grumble and swear;
You let your throat
By the scamps be guided,
And swore by rote —
All just as I did!
And without beseeching,
Relief is brought us —
For we turn the teaching
On those who taught us!'

V.

A haggard and ruffled
Old fellow was Jack,
With a grim face muffled
In ragged black,
And his coat was rusty
And never neat,
And his wings were dusty
With grime of the street,
And he sidelong peer'd,
With eyes of soot,
And scowl'd and sneer'd, —
And was lame of a foot!
And he long'd to go
From whence he came; —
And the tailor, you know,
Was just the same.

VI.

All kinds of weather
They felt confined,
And swore together
At all mankind;
For their mirth was done,
And they felt like brothers,
And the swearing of one
Meant no more than the other's;
'Twas just a way
They had learn'd, you see, —
Each wanted to say
Only this — 'Woe's me!
I'm a poor old fellow,
And I'm prison'd so,
While the sun shines mellow,
And the corn waves yellow.
And the fresh winds blow, —
And the folk don't care
If I live or die,
But I long for air,
And I wish to fly!'
Yet unable to utter it,
And too wild to bear,
They could only mutter it,
And swear.

VII.

Many a year
They dwelt in the city,
In their prisons drear,
And none felt pity,
And few were sparing
Of censure and coldness,
To hear them swearing
With such plain boldness;
But at last, by the Lord,
Their noise was stopt, —
For down on his board
The tailor dropt,
And they found him dead,
And done with snarling,
And over his head
Still grumbled the Starling;
But when an old Jew
Claim'd the goods of the tailor,
And with eye askew
Eyed the feathery railer,
And, with a frown
At the dirt and rust,
Took the old cage down,
In a shower of dust, —
Jack, with heart aching,
Felt life past bearing,
And shivering, quaking,
All hope forsaking,
Died, swearing.